Greeley’s institutions of higher education are teaching more students this year, with record retention rates at the University of Northern Colorado and continued growth at Aims Community College even after an unheard-of surge in enrollment the year prior.
UNC has 8,443 students learning at its site locations and online, including the main campus in Greeley. UNC also has its Denver Center at Lowry and the Loveland Center at Centerra.
Aims has an overall enrollment of 8,619 students online and at all four campus locations in Northern Colorado.
Aims and UNC started classes in late August, and the schools compiled and finalized enrollment data early in the semester.
At UNC, the undergraduate headcount increased by 4% from fall 2023 to 6,284 students.
UNC associate vice president of enrollment management Pete Lien said the increase is significant. Since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, the university has wanted to see its student population grow, and the undergraduate headcount is a key figure because it’s the majority of the enrollment and a driver of student tuition at UNC.
Lien said enrollment at UNC and for the majority of schools in Colorado and nationally will always be a top priority. Enrollment for new, first-time students is becoming increasingly competitive here, he added.
“Like many other institutions, we’re also navigating an environment where funding for higher education at both the state and federal levels is uncertain,” Lien said. “Those broader conversations and decisions can significantly affect enrollment trends and the resources we have to support students. That’s not an excuse. It’s us recognizing there are many factors that influence enrollment and planning accordingly.”
UNC also recorded its highest fall-to-fall persistence rate among undergraduate, degree-seeking students since 2009. About 85.4% of undergraduate and degree-seeking students at the university in fall 2024 either graduated or opted to return for this fall.
Lien said this percentage shows the university as a whole is focused on student success. Enrollment, persistence and retention are about more than the admissions department, he said.
At UNC, retention measures the number of new, first-time students who return to the university from first year to second year. Persistence measures the number of undergraduate students who return from one year to the next or who graduate.
“You don’t get a historical high in anything related to retention or persistence without a collective effort at an institution,” Lien said. “It literally gets to the everyday work that happens that might not necessarily be directly related to enrollment work. It makes a difference in how our students are feeling a sense of belonging.”
A big driver of that high persistence rate came from 77.8% of new, first-time students in 2024 returning for their second year. This is the highest on record, Lien said.
“If you’re doing poorly with the retention of your new first-time students, you’re going to see that reflected in your overall,” Lien added. “There’s a different sense of work that happens with the new, first-time students, who have a limited experience in navigating college. A sophomore or junior has a couple of years under their belt. There’s a different attitude and approach to working with new, first-time students that happens from the other populations, but it sets them up to find that rhythm and feel that sense of belonging.”
Aims enrollment continues to grow
The overall student headcount of 8,619 is a 6.25% increase from 2024, which Aims vice president of student affairs Larry Pakowski said is sustained growth from a year ago.
In 2024, Aims saw an approximately 20% jump in enrollment to 8,271 from 2023. Pakowski said such an increase is nearly unheard of in higher education.
This year, the Greeley campus has 3,138 students — a 2.08% increase from last fall. The new student population is also up in Greeley. This fall, there are 986 new students, which is a 5.12% increase from last year.
Pakowski said affordability, the quality of education and the variety of options for students account for the recent surging student enrollments. The college offers degrees and certificates, continuing education classes, workforce-based programs and programs for high school students who want to earn college credits.
“There are many different paths that a student can take here,” Pakowski said. “We’re also really kind of focused on the affordability piece coming into the nexus of everything.”
Tuition and fees are under $3,000 per year for students living within the boundary of the college’s tax district. This area includes most of Weld County.
Both Aims and UNC offer different programs designed to make post-secondary education more affordable and accessible to students. These include tuition promise, which are designed to cover education costs based on income levels.
Aims has seen a slight decrease in its full-time enrollment in Greeley and a significant increase in part-time enrollment on the campus.
The drop is only 1.18% to 1,252 students. The part-time population increase of 4.5% (to 1,866 students) is one of the biggest changes in Aims enrollment data from a year ago.
Pakowski said the increase comes from online or concurrent enrollment. High school concurrent enrollment students typically don’t take a full load of classes.
Full-time students take 12 or more credit hours, which would be normally be four classes since most classes are three credits. Part time is under 12 credits.
Some certificate programs might also be part-time. Students who work while going to school also might take one or two classes instead of a full load.
“We’d always rather a student, if part time is where they can be successful, we’d always support them in that,” Pakowski said.
Aims2UNC partnership, statewide data
The number of Aims students transferring to UNC is also higher this fall. Lien said the university had 150 students from Aims this fall, which is up 34% from 2024.
Of those 150, 92 transferred to UNC through the 7-year-old Aims2UNC program, wherein students start at Aims for an associate degree and complete their bachelor’s degree at UNC.. This represents a 41.5% increase of students in the program who transferred to UNC.
“This highlights a really significant partnership for us and I think a shared effort around educating our community,” Lien said. “That’s big time for us, and it’s a collective ‘us.’ We’re a part of Weld County. We’re helping students make some pretty significant changes educationally.”
The Colorado Department of Higher Education only has statewide enrollment data available through fall 2021. Department spokeswoman Megan McDermott said it’s working through re-submissions from institutions for 2022-24.
The 2021 data showed 222,869 students in all institutions of higher education including two-year and four-year schools. The total was the second lowest total in the previous 11 years, behind only fall 2015 with 227,506 students. The highest number of students in that span came in fall 2019, just before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, with 240,716 students enrolled.
The University of Colorado system reported record enrollment this fall. The university’s four campuses — University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Denver, University of Colorado Colorado Springs and University of Colorado Anschutz, the medical campus — have more than 67,800 students this fall, according to census data.
At CU Boulder, enrollment is up 1% this fall with 38,808 students. Continuing undergraduate enrollment is up 3.1% to 23,603 students, graduate enrollment is down 3.2% to 6,288 and international undergraduate student enrollment is down 13.8% to 643.
Hence then, the article about unc aims see student enrollment increases for fall semester was published today ( ) and is available on GreeleyTribune ( Saudi Arabia ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( UNC, Aims see student enrollment increases for fall semester )
Also on site :